My grandma used to say to me when I would go back home to the Dominican Republic. “You are now a collection of patches, a quilt of sorts. That is a beautiful thing but never forget who you are at the core”. I really took that to heart at an early age and decided that in order to be happy the best thing I can do for myself and others is to be unapologetically myself.

I am indeed a patch strengthened by my truth: Dominican native, St. Louis raised, Afro-Latina with a vision to shape the world in which those like me (and unlike me) can feel included, dignified, and celebrated.

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We are the Sum of our Experiences

National Spelling Bee

2009

At the age of 14, I represented the state of Missouri in the National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. I have been one of the only few Latinas featured in the ESPN stage.

Babson College, #1 School for Entrepreneurship

Class of 2017

I graduated from Babson College with honors in cum laude in 2017. Throughout my college years, I have gotten the opportunity to travel over 20+ countries, including a semester in the emerging economies of Russia, China, and India and entrepreneurship leadership programs in Rwanda and Uganda.

Launched Forefront Full-Time (Formerly Known as Project 99)

2017

Forefront is a premier training provider for the future of work, helping leading employers to become more innovative, competitive, and profitable as workplace demographics in the United States continue to shift rapidly.

Latino 30 Under 30 Recepient by El Mundo

2018

Read my full story at www.latino30under30.com/yulkendyvaldez

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Partnerships and Collaboration are at the Center of my Work

Resolution Project

Fellow

"Resolution Project has been one of the main investors of Forefront, and without them I will not be here today. I am part of a community of fellows from across 6 continents working on various issues from education to the environment"

Camelback Ventures

Fellow

"Camelback Ventures is one of our most recent investors and by far one of the best communities of leaders and entrepreneurs I have been a part of. With their support and coaching, I am able to become a very leader and human being everyday"

Peace First

Changemaker

"Peace First is an amazing platform for social entrepreneurs. I am happy to be part of this community and receive continuous feedback to scale the impact of the work we do"

Young People For

Fellow

"YP4 is a yearlong leadership development program for young people committed to creating positive social change in their communities. It includes regional and national trainings"

Cordes Foundation

Fellow

"As a Cordes Fellow, I was able to attend Opportunity Collaboration in Florida and work with cross-sector leaders on developing solutions to poverty and other socio-economic inequalities that persist in the US"

Transformative Action Institute

TIA Education Summit Participant

"Their model for change is called “transformative action," which is based on tried and true scientific research and has been widely recognized. In the 2016 summit in Los Angeles, I got the opportunity to learn effective facilitation skills to better create change in the communities that I work in"

StartingBloc

Fellow - New Orleans

"Part of an ecosystem made up of 2,500 fellows from all over the world building a society that works for all beings"

4.0 Schools

Fellow

"Dynamic fellowship for education entrepreneurs where you get to pilot initiatives that make a difference in our schools and the young people that depend on them everyday"

Net Impact

Racial Equity Fellow

"Racial Equity Fellowship focus on creating solutions to foster more diversity and inclusion in our schools and communities"

Bank of America

Student Leader

"Through this program, I got the opportunity to intern for 8-weeks at the International Institute in St. Louis where I worked directly with immigrants and refugees from all over the world. I also got to connect with executives across Bank of America in a week-long intensive program in Washington D.C. "

Opportunity Nation

Opportunity Nation Leader

"Opportunity Nation is a bipartisan, cross-sector,national campaign to expand economic mobility andrestore the American Dream. As a leader representing Opportunity Nation, I get to learn more about current business and government policies and implement solutions that bridge social and economic divides"

Puma

Management Consulting Field Experience

"Babson semester-long experiential course where I got the opportunity to do consulting for Puma along a small team"

EY

Launch Intern - New York

"Interned at the New York Office for 8-weeks across all business lines"

Clinton Global Initiative

Lizzie's Natural Desserts

"Have received invitation to attend CGIU four years in a row in the University of Arizona, University of Miami, UC Berkeley, and Northeastern University respectively to represent the commitment we made with Forefront. President Clinton has personally recognized us"

Innosight Consulting

Summer Analyst

"Interned at Innosight Consulting for 10-weeks and used innovation frameworks to solve complex business challenges"

Generation Progress

Make Progress National Summit Scholar

"Engaged in conversations with young leaders in our nation's capital about ways we can create social impact in our communities and was in the same room with Vice President, Joe Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Secretary of Labor, Thomas Perez"

PPIA

Moving the World Conference Fellow

"I was accepted to attend the PPIA Moving the World Conference in Indiana University in partnership with the School of Public and Environmental Affairs"

Harvard Kennedy School (PPLC)

Fellow

"Highly selective program for future leaders interested in public policy and social entrepreneurship"